Behind the Mask
by A. Michealson
Summary: Analia had to discover her mother was a freaking goddess, and that she could die if she stepped out of camp borders. Still processing the fact that she wasn't 100% human, she meets Nico di Angelo, who just might have a little secret to tell her...but will Analia trust Nico to show him what's behind the mask she wears? Rated M to be safe.


I don't own the PJO series, okay? *** **sighs** * **

**Chapter One-Analia**

I stared in shock at Annabeth, who was looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

"So you're saying that my mom is a god, who has magical powers, who could've went and gotten me the second I was born?"

She sighed, and shook her head. "No, the gods leave their children to be taken care of by the mortal parent. When they are old enough, they send the child over to this camp. I still don't understand how you found it, Analia." She looked really confused, and her grey eyes stared at me, as if I were a puzzle and she was trying to figure me out.

I scowled. "My dad has…drinking problems."

She seemed surprised, but didn't say anything, motioning me to continue.

"I ran away, and…" I would probably sound really stupid saying this, but I refused to back down now. I was the kid of a goddess. I could do this.

"This…cat was meowing to me, and I kind of followed it. Really stupid, I know, but…I just did. It led me here, then disappeared."

I probably sounded crazy, but Annabeth looked like she believed me. "I wonder who your mom is.." she mused, looking like she was in a daze.

As if I wasn't already thinking that. I felt a scowl cross my face, and I looked away.

I was short, petite, whatever. I mean, I was tiny, barely even five foot two, and I was FIFTEEN. Annabeth was at least a head taller, and to make things worse, I was only slightly tanned, with freckles that I had no idea how I had obtained them. Even worse, my eyes.

They were a gentle orange-brown, successfully freaking out everyone who saw me. Who had orange eyes? I was a freak, even by demigod standards. The orange eyes looked creepy against my light copper hair, and I was pretty sure I would never get anyone to like me.

I was a freak in middle school and high school, and even the nerds hadn't wanted me hanging out with them.

My shoulders hunched over, and Annabeth noticed. "Oh. Hey. I'm sure your mom will claim you. I mean, you're fifteen. You probably just have a minor god as your parent."

Even she didn't look convinced, but I just shrugged.

"Hey! Wise girl!"

We both turned around, and I saw a boy with shaggy black hair and bright green eyes running up. He held out a hand, and I hesitantly shook it.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, and boyfriend of Annabeth." He had a goofy grin on, and I managed a weak smile.

I swallowed. "Analia. Kid of I don't know." His grin fell, and he looked at me, pity brimming in his eyes, and I hated it.

"How old are you?" My cheeks heated, and I looked away. "Fifteen."

He looked surprised, then angry. "I'm nineteen. Your parent was supposed to have claimed you by now-"

"Shut up." Annabeth smacked Percy, stopping him from rubbing more salt in my wounds. "C'mon. See you around." Annabeth waved to me, dragging Percy away, and I smiled gratefully at her.

I decided to explore this place, and as I looked at the cabins, I attempted to name each one. I was really glad we had studied Greek Mythology last year.

I came to one that was all black, and for some reason, I liked it. There was green fire shooting up, which I thought was cool. Skulls were brimming the corners, and I ran my fingers over them, smiling.

It was coated with obsidian, and as I felt the smooth surface, I was completely at ease. I forgot all of Annabeth's theories of why I was so old, yet unclaimed.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

The voice didn't scare me like it should have, and I turned around, refusing to look up.

Whoever was standing in front of me was pale, and held a black sword in his right hand. He had a black leather jacket on, similar to mine, and instead of ripped jeans, like I had, he had leather pants, also black.

I could feel his eyes boring into my head, and for some reason, it irritated me. I decided to freak him out, so I looked up, right into his eyes.

They were black, but I didn't find them threatening. Despite his pale skin, he looked slightly Italian, and it suited him. When he caught sight of my freaky eyes, he stepped back, just as I had suspected.

It made me feel better and worse, all at the same time. This emo dude was scared of me too.

"I'm looking at your house." The answer was out of my mouth before I could stop it, and he looked slightly amused.

"Is it that obvious that it's my house?" He replied back, an eyebrow raising. I met his raised eyebrow with my own, and he looked surprised. "No. You're just going to walk up to a random stranger admiring a house that isn't yours and ask them what they're doing," I drawled, heavy with sarcasm. "Because that's perfectly normal, although normal is usually running away, screaming from me."

It was true. I was the kid of a goddess who was supposed to claim me when I was thirteen. Apparently, my mom was two years late. Sure, I had arrived this morning, but still. Most demigods were claimed as soon as they stepped into the boundries of Camp Half-Blood.

He looked...pleased. "You're not afraid of my house?"

What was up with these questions? I turned around again, feeling the skulls again, their empty eyeholes somehow soothing me.

"Please. Your house is nothing compared to my dad's apartment."

That was also true. My dad's apartment, and where I lived, was awful. He drank, smoked, did drugs, and everything else. He smelled awful, and when he had a bad day, often decided to make mine worse. He was clever, only cutting me where nobody would see. My spine and stomach were littered with scars. I had stopped being afraid of these things awhile back.

"Why is that?" His voice asked, smooth as velvet. There was also an underlying concern, though, which I ignored.

"My dad sucks." Recognizing the end of that topic, he left it alone. Smart guy.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, then turned around again, only to meet his nonwavering stare.

He stuck his hand out to me, which I shook, still not looking away from his stare.

"Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades." He introduced himself, looking away first. I had a feeling that he didn't often look away first, and it made me feel even more of an outcast, if that was possible. I made the kid of death uncomfortable.

"Analia. Undetermined."

With that, I walked away, leaving the son of Hades behind.

* * *

"Hey. I'm Michael, son of Apollo." I looked up from where I was sitting on a log, and looked directly into bright blue eyes. He jumped a little when he saw mine, but his smile didn't waver.

"Wow. Cool eyes." He was grinning, and didn't seem freaked out, which confused me.

"You're not freaked out by my specific color of eyeball?" I was looking forward to the campfire, so I could find out who my freaking mom was.

He laughed. "Naw. You're funny." I felt my eyebrows shoot up. Sure, I'd been called gory, creepy, and every other name in the book, but…funny?

"Are you talking to me?" I ask, completely caught off guard. He chuckled again, and his smile got even wider.

"Yep. You're pretty cool."

…What?

He laughed again at my expression, and smiled. "Yeah. You are. So, who's your godly parent? I'd say, maybe…I don't know. You don't look like any of the ones I know. How old are you? What's your favorite-"

I tuned out his chitter chatter, feeling the warm summer breeze blow by. I found myself wishing that Chiron, the horse dude, would come and make me go somewhere. It was only mid afternoon, and I remembered this morning, when I stumbled on this camp, following the cat.

My whole world had been turned upside down, in only a matter of hours.

I was the offspring of a goddess. A goddess that probably didn't want me. I pushed that thought away, and concentrated on what was happening now.

Michael was actually still talking. Regardless of that, I liked Michael. His innocent talking would fill up the awkward spaces I left behind, and I made a mental note to spend more time around him.

Sure, maybe he talked a little too much, but I didn't mind, in the slightest. I mean, he was nice enough to hang out with an emo.

"Analia. Michael." An amused voice yanked me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see Chiron standing there. He looked funnily at me, and I sighed.

"Michael. Stop talking." My command made Michael stop in the middle of a sentence, confused. Chiron's lips twitched, and I had a feeling he was trying to hide a smile.

"Analia, may I have a word with you? In my office," he added, when I made no move to get up.

I sighed and stood up, waving off Michael. "See you later!" he chirped, clueless.

If I lived that long. "Yeah. Later." I turned and trudged after Chiron, who was trotting along the path, looking worried. I glanced at him, and he was studying me carefully.

"What?" I sounded annoyed and impatient, but Chiron didn't bat an eye. "Our camp director, Dionysus, has asked to see you."

"So?" I was meeting with a god. Great. Wonder what advice he would give me. Chiron's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't look like his child. He only asks to see his children."

I snorted, and the centaur's eyebrows raised. "Excuse me?" I sobered immediately, and sighed.

"My biological father is currently sitting in front of the TV, drunk. He doesn't want to send me away because, apparently, he likes the money I bring in from the state. He's been this way for a long time. There is no way that Dionysus is my father." Chiron studied my face, but didn't stop walking-or trotting.

Silent, we reached the steps, and he ducked through the doorway. Swallowing hard, I followed, and saw a man sitting at the table in the middle of the room.

He was small, but round. He had curly... purple?…hair and was wearing an animal-patterned Hawaiian shirt. He was leaning forward, and had his purple eyes trained intensely on me. His face was flushed, nose red, but his eyes were dead serious. Then his mouth opened, and he spoke.

"Analia. Sit down. You too, Chiron." I glanced behind me, but instead of a big ass centaur, there was a dude in a wheelchair. Somehow, I wasn't surprised.

Confused, I sat down. Dionysus' eyes were trained on me, and for a rare moment, I was uncomfortable. Then the hammer went down.

"I know who your mother is."

My heart stopped, then began beating faster. "Who is she?" The words flew out of my mouth, and he sighed.

"She is one of the few goddesses I respect-" his sentence was cut off by Chiron's gasp. The old centaur looked shellshocked, and I wondered if he was experiencing a heart attack.

I felt a twinge of annoyance, and directed my eyes back toward the god. He shared the same look as me, eyebrows raised and mouth pursed. He was just about to tell me who my mom was, dammit!

He sighed, then stared me down again. "You are her first child in…thousands of years."

I felt as if reality had just walked up to me, then smacked me in the face. I was alone. Sure, Nico didn't have any brothers or sisters either, but at least he was a son of the Big Three. He had Percy to relate to, but I was alone.

I couldn't help the scowl that crossed my face. Then a question popped into my head, and I knew I shouldn't voice it. But of course, that didn't stop me.

"What happened to my last sibling?"

The tension was so thick you could slice it with a knife, then serve it on a platter. Outside the window, clouds gathered, covering up the sun, and it thundered. Loudly.

Dionysus' face darkened, and Chiron shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair. I got the message: my last sibling was killed.

"By who?" Everyone in the room knew what I was talking about, and even Dionysus looked uncomfortable.

"Now, you must know, powerful demigods are often hated by other gods. They bring too much destruction, and are unpredictable." Chiron's voice was tense, and he shifted in his seat again.

"A god killed my sibling?" My voice came out quiet, but steady. Inside, though, I was furious. Just because they were powerful, they were killed.

It thundered again, and I took a deep breath. "Okay. Subject changed. So who's my mom?"

Obviously relieved, Dionysus looked at me. "She will claim you at dinner tonight, Analia. She must talk to the other gods first." He glanced away at the clock hanging on the wall, then his eyes returned to me.

"It's time for the meeting. I wish you luck, young demigod." Then he just…disappeared, leaving behind the smell of grapes.

Beside me, Chiron was shaking, and I felt a frown cross my face. What was he scared about? It wasn't like there was a big chance of him getting killed or anything.

Angry, I got up and stormed out of the room, where the clouds were already clearing up.


End file.
